Esther 9:18

The Origins of the Feast of Purim

9:18 But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth days, and rested on the fifteenth, making it a day for banqueting and happiness.

Esther 3:11

3:11 The king replied to Haman, “Keep your money, ¹  and do with those people whatever you wish.” ² 

Esther 1:12

1:12 But Queen Vashti refused ³  to come at the king’s bidding ⁴  conveyed through the eunuchs. Then the king became extremely angry, and his rage consumed ⁵  him.

Esther 6:8

6:8 let them bring royal attire which the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden – one bearing the royal insignia! ⁶ 

Esther 9:17

9:17 All of this happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. They then rested on the fourteenth day and made it a day for banqueting and happiness.

Esther 9:21

9:21 to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year

Esther 9:1

The Jews Prevail over Their Enemies

9:1 In the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on its thirteenth day, the edict of the king and his law were to be executed. It was on this day that the enemies of the Jews had supposed that they would gain power over them. But contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies.

Esther 3:12

3:12 So the royal scribes ⁷  were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps ⁸  and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to its language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

Esther 8:9

8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly ⁹  summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. ¹⁰  They wrote out ¹¹  everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia ¹²  – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language.

[3:11]  ¹ tn Heb “the silver is given to you”; NRSV “the money is given to you”; CEV “You can keep their money.” C. A. Moore (Esther [AB], 40) understands these words somewhat differently, taking them to imply acceptance of the money on Xerxes’ part. He translates, “Well, it’s your money.”

[3:11]  ² tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes”; NASB “do with them as you please.”

[1:12]  ¹ sn Refusal to obey the king was risky even for a queen in the ancient world. It is not clear why Vashti behaved so rashly and put herself in such danger. Apparently she anticipated humiliation of some kind and was unwilling to subject herself to it, in spite of the obvious dangers. There is no justification in the biblical text for an ancient Jewish targumic tradition that the king told her to appear before his guests dressed in nothing but her royal high turban, that is, essentially naked.

[1:12]  ² tn Heb “at the word of the king”; NASB “at the king’s command.”

[1:12]  ³ tn Heb “burned in him” (so KJV).

[6:8]  ¹ tc The final comment (“one on whose head the royal crown has been”) is not included in the LXX.

[3:12]  ¹ tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[3:12]  ² tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”

[8:9]  ¹ tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”

[8:9]  ² sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.

[8:9]  ³ tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”